Aztecs' Hillman continues to impress

COLUMBIA, Mo.  San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman continues to be as advertised – and more. So much more.

For a year coaches have been saying “wait till Ronnie gets here.” He’s here. And he’s proved to be worth the wait.

As lightning hung over Memorial Stadium, Hillman made it strike twice on the field, scoring on runs of 93 and 75 yards. He finished with 228 yards on 23 carries.

But in the wake of No. 25 Missouri’s last minute, 27-24 victory, Hillman wasn’t too chatty about his personal achievements.

“We did a great job running the ball and our offensive line did a great job opening up the holes,” said Hillman, the first SDSU back to have back-to-back 100-yard games since 2006. “But we’ve got to do a better job controlling the clock at the end of the game. It was a tough loss.”

Hillman has scored in all three games of his college career and has accounted for seven of SDSU’s 11 rushing touchdowns this season.

“He’s a young kid who is learning a lot about how to be a running back at the Division I level,” said head coach Brady Hoke. “He got some help in there and there was some good holes in there. When he gets out in the open he runs pretty well.”

His 93-yard score in the fourth quarter is the second-longest in school history and the longest of the Division I era (Phil Prokop, 1952).

His 75-yard run came as a surprise to everyone. It was late in the first half and, on third down, and the Aztecs were just trying to get into the locker room.

“We were just trying to get out at halftime to be honest with you,” Hoke said. “He found a nice hole and when you have speed, you can make big plays.”

LEARNING TO FINISH

T.J. Moe’s 68-yard touchdown in the closing minute will certainly be a teaching moment for Hoke & Co., who have been preaching all off season about the importance of finishing games. Defensive coordinator Rocky Long, who said last year the Aztecs were scared to win when they blew fourth-quarter leads to Wyoming and UNLV, said that wasn’t the case Saturday night.

“We were playing to win,” Long said. “We just didn’t make the tackles. We were calling the same things at the end that we were calling all second half.”

Cornerback Jose Perez, one of the elder statesmen of the Aztecs, said it will be up to the seniors to help the younger players get over the loss.

“We have to bounce back.” he said. “It’s tough on the younger guys and the older guys have been through it. The next thing is to get better. We’re a great team. We just showed it. We can compete with any team in the country. But it’s tough. We have nine more games left.”

Defensive back Larry Parker was on crutches at the end of the game and favoring his left foot/leg. His status is not known. Tight end Alston Umuolo and safety Dey Juan Hemmings did not make the trip to Columbia.